Kyle Hendricks has been knocked around this spring, coming into today’s matchup against Arizona with a 6.14 ERA. He continued that trend by allowing a run in the bottom of the 1st on an RBI single by Ildemaro Vargas after walking leadoff hitter Steven Souza Jr., but the Cubs offense came alive with a three-run 4th to take him off the hook.

The Northsiders didn’t look back, scoring one more in the 5th on a David Bote oppo taco and three in the 6th to blow out the D-backs. (Box score)

Why the Cubs Won

The Cubs were aggressive on the basepaths and capitalized on scoring opportunities, while the Diamondbacks were unable to execute despite 8 total hits.

Laura grew up a Cubs fan in Northwest Illinois and became an avid follower of the team during the Sosa-McGwire home run chase. Currently, she is the #1 Cubs fan in Toronto, Canada. She writes about MLB (and occasionally other sports) at farnorthsider.com. You can find her on Twitter @farnorthsider.